An upcoming show that many believe is capitalizing off baby mama drama in the worst way has caused uproar — and it hasn’t even aired yet. Oxygen plans to show a one-hour special about G-Unit rapper Shawty Lo and his 11 children and 10 baby mammas. The special showcases the Atlanta-based rapper with an aim to “capture the highs and lows of this extreme ‘blended family’ that is anything but ordinary, while also showing the drama and the passion behind life’s most unexpected situations.” A press statement released by the network said that the show “will be filled with outrageous and authentic over-the-top moments that our young, diverse female audience can tweet and gossip about.”

Many people have been tweeting and talking about the show, but not with good hopes. The demeaning labels that Shawty Lo’s baby mamas carry, such as “the wannabe-bougie baby mama” or “the baby mama from hell” have made some viewers question Oxygen’s move towards ratchetness. The negative buzz about the unaired special caught the attention of author Sabrina Lamb, who rallied 14,000 signatures through a Change.org petition. The petition calls for Oxygen to cancel a show that she believes is offensive and negatively portrays black women, relationships, and children.

The petition reads:

“As dysfunctional and violent as so-called reality shows are, could you ever imagine a one hour spectacle where 11 children are forced to witness their 10 unwed mothers clamor for financial support, emotional attention and sexual reward from Shawty-Lo, the apathetic ‘father’?

Could you imagine that Oxygen Media, known for violent programming targeting young women with stereotypical images, would consider the embarrassment that these children will experience, being used as entertainment?”

But even with the overwhelming outcry, it appears that Oxygen just won’t budge. The network has defended the show, claiming that the production is not meant to replicate negative stereotypes of African-Americans.

“Oxygen’s one-hour special in development is not meant to be a stereotypical representation of everyday life for any one demographic or cross-section of society,” the network told RadarOnline. “It is a look at one unique family and their complicated, intertwined life… Oxygen Media’s diverse team of creative executives will continue developing the show with this point of view.”

BOOM! Actions speak louder than words just don’t watch and tank their ratings. Even better you can go a step futher and cancel the channel. Furthermore I would add for black media sites who don’t condone this mess to STOP giving them free press and attention.

AM

I can assure you binks they are going to continue to give them free publicity under the guise of conducting ‘pop culture’/blogging duties.You just wait and see

Old TImer

you know ^&%* well black folks are going to eat that %^$^& up! If I could be a fly on the wall in the back door meetings of these folks. They have MASTERY of manipulating black people. Keep you stupid, keep you in the hood, and don’t you dare pick up a book not related to African American studies!

Sasha

So now that they won’t budge, this is really the opportunity for people to show where they stand. Its easy to sign a petition, even easier not to tune in. When this show airs, it will give the people a real chance to have their voices heard. Hit them where it hurts: ratings and not giving $ to the show’s sponsors.

Tim

Why exactly are you all mad? This is an accurate portrayal of todays GHETTO black family life. The same way Good Times was an accurate portrayal of 70′s black ghetto family life. You can’t have it both ways black folks. You can’t glorify or remain silent on black baby mamas, their kids, homes with no black men and the effects this dysfunction has on the black community. Then turn around and get mad when it’s shown to those outside of the community and the world. Now, you all want to hide the end result as if it doesn’t exist? This is not a minority. This is now the majority in Black Ghettos! 60% of never married black baby mamas have multiple baby daddies.

Get your popcorn ready, sit back and watch the trainwreck. We reap what we sow. I’m sorry to say this but we (the black community) deserve this.

cherry

Yeah, black ghetto family life for the Evans, WHO WERE MARRIED AND IN A COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP!!

Tim

Exactly, that’s my point! Pre 1970’s Black GHETTO FAMILY life did not overwhelming consist of baby mamas. The traditional family might have been poor but there was a MARRIED mother and father in the home.

tish

you refer to the “MARRIED working-class family” reality of blacks as portrayed by sit-com “goodtimes?”

try again….

Tim

@tish

Where did I say working-class?

tish

@tim…i just added that little tid-bit of them being “working class”, to help you understand that the only adjective to describe the show was not “ghetto.” especially since their working-class status was the linchpin of the show, it’s surprising that you find it necessary to defend your omission of this factoid.

i know it kinda pisses on your “black-folks-are-all-ghetto and-triflin’-wet-dream” but, yes, some actually work, have morals; and black men do marry ONE WOMAN and raise the children they conceive with this one women.

the evans’ were working-class and poor due to racism and inadequate opportunities, not ignorance.

but once more, it’s easier to just call them “ghetto.”

Tim

@tish

The Evans family was NOT working class. James was UNEMPLOYED 99% of the time and the wife was a stay at home mom. They lived in the high rise Projects of Chicago. Sorry, that most certainly was the GHETTO.

My point. Poor, unemployed….. “The Ghetto” once didn’t mean no man, unemployed and baby mama. It does now. Black baby mama, black matriarchy is also now defended, glorified and accepted and embraced as the “New familial Structure”. That is, it seems, until its shown to the world. Why is now a problem and why is everyone now outraged?

tish

tim,

please review the operational definition of “working class.” it also includes under-employment/off-the-book employment….you know what, on second thought, never mind…

since you have some obvious fetish with the term “ghetto” and it’ requisite when defining black people, i’ll just let you have it….

B

What did Tim say that was inaccurate though?

Robbie

@Anthony. I will not watch that garbage because I don’t support these types of shows and behavior. I clearly see your points and you are right. You indeed reap what you sow.

Robbie

I emant to say Tim not Anthony. MY bad!

thinkpink

Black people didn’t orchestrate this the welfare act did. Please tell me what the black community sowed to reap this. I would love to hear your explanation on how we created this family dynamic ourselves. It’ll be fun for me to educate you on how public policy and the media did the sowing. Because blacks control the government, education system, media and music right? You have posted this comment before and are clearly doing so to get a reaction. You’re smart enough to know the real problem behind this show. All blacks aren’t ghetto. The media just wants to portray us this way and refuses to show our varied life experiences. Again you know this so I’ll post the comment for anyone else who thinks the way you do.

Tim

Blame it on the all in paid off so-called black leaders and pseudo black intellectuals with all the alphabets behind their name (who were taught by their white liberal Gods) who sold that ish to the “poe common black folk” as progress and a long term solution. It’s really an insult to our proud hard working ancestors who survived w/o it.

Blacks would have never embraced this entitlement mentality without their promoting, preaching and teachings of quasi socialism, communism and Marxism as good for black folk in a capitalist country! lol & smmfh at the same dam time. A large percentage of Blacks are essentially practicing socialism, communism and Marxism while everyone else is practicing capitalism. That’s why you have foreigners opening businesses with shoe string budgets and 5 years later having thriving businesses in the hood. Excellent Article…. “The Black Family. 40 Years of Lies”

Old TImer

How can you say that? Blacks actively SEEK welfare, and government hand outs. Hell you got mothers telling their children to NOT perform well in school in order to get more money from social security, and free after school programs. What effect do you think that has on the child? When the Dept. of Education writes curriculum they already assume blacks will royally eff up so the set the bar low from the start. They expect only 60% of black kids to know how to read at a certain age, why? Because historically no matter what they do blacks will fail. No child left behind was SPECIFICALLY designed for blacks! Everyone else’s test scores went up except black kids. You mean to tell me one can dumb down the curriculum so much that all they have to do is study specific material for a specific test and nothing more and they still fail? These kids are dead weight dragging down everyone else in the class who need to be challenged. American used to be number 1 in education and is now 14 th and 16th in math and science despite throwing more and more money at them every year. Life doesn’t imitate art, art imitates life! Black folks don’t even know what to wear if not for BET, and rap videos. If anyone dares to leave the plantation you folks ridicule them to no end, its no wonder those of us who make something of ourselves couldn’t care less what happens in the black community anymore. You go into these places looking to help out and give people something MORE than a handout and they spit on you, call you names, and don’t even show up at all lest you have free food! You worship these black celebrities, charlatans and “leaders,” but couldn’t name a prominent black business man, scientist, inventor. I’m a white guy and all I see on t.v. is black people getting rich in hip hop endeavors, and African american history/studies? Don’t blacks do anything else? The perfect image the black community needed Herman Cain a literal rocket freaking scientist and you people called him an uncle Tom because he DARED to think things differently. Manipulating black history is probably one of the most profitable things one can do, it takes advantage of numerous human psychological drawbacks. He looks different from me therefore he could be an enemy. He speaks my language, i.e. Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid outright insulting blacks to their faces and they lapped it up like red kool-aid.My greatest enemy isn’t a rich white republican, the guy most likely signing my pay checks, its Lil Pookie shooting at me because of the color i’m wearing or he want my shoes. What kind of ass-backwards, savagery is this? Debating with people like you is futile because 1. you’re arguing without a full deck. Education in the black community is all top down marching orders. Don’t you dare cite a non-black person, democrat, or grandma because all white people are evil (except the ones we vote for). Your black leaders manipulate history for their own personal gain. The NAACP was started by the same folks who put you in chains. 2. We don’t care what you think, we are trying to help you, this is an intervention and you won’t admit you have a problem. We will be alright, we will continue to marry women of other races, avoid the ghetto where only our money is welcome,
and laugh our asses off at t.v. shows like this. You think you are free? You are enslaved more than ever before! Those brilliant democrats found a way to enslave you mentally rather than physically, knowing you will enslave each other physically all by your damned selves! When will blacks think for themselves? When will black women stop whoring themselves to these losers? When will black parents stop forgoing everything else in schools for the next basketball phenom? When will blacks stop being cowards about reporting crime in their own neighborhoods? I grew up in the hood, this notion of drugs, basketball, and music is the only way out is bullchit! When will blacks RESPECT kids who like math and science? With 20 million black babies NOT on this Earth because they were all aborted, when will blacks march for them, instead of some Trayvon punk who probably would have been shot a week later by another black kid?

Blaming whitey is easy if you don’t know any of them, and don’t care to even be in the same room with them (because some of the individuals mentioned above told you not to).The day man hops in space ships headed for Mars because the Earth is doomed, black folks will still be shooting at each other in the hood, and wake up one day and wonder “where all the white folks at?” Hell they might even celebrate.

Old TImer

Its a conspiracy I tell you! LOL! This site is run by the man!

Kacey

They won’t budge because for every person who objects to this show and vows never to see it, there are 10 people who will! The producers and networks are not going to invest money and air time in something that won’t generate ratings. The formula for much of what we are seeing on reality TV today is:

An Underclass of Individuals willing to pander to stereotypes
+ Contrived Conflict (perhaps with a sprinkling of violence)
= Ratings Gold!

The underclass includes people of color, ethnic whites (mostly Italian Americans), the poor, and women (even wealthy women)! The contrived conflict is initiated by the producers and the ‘actors’ are happy to play along. And ratings gold may not include your viewership or mine, but it includes a large section of the American population who are happy for any mind-numbing entertainment and who just don’t want to think too much.

Tim

You will never see a Jew reality show with negative Jewish stereotypes.

tish

and why do you think that’s the case? because the producers of these trashy shows, are perfectly fine exploiting the base level ignorance of the “others” yet will NEVER do so to their own.

i lived in a predominantly jewish community for years and can tell you that there was some “ratchedness” that could make a good reality show.

but, it’ll never clear the desk of “rosenstein” or “ginsburg” or “klein”…(eg. the producers)

tish

nor will you see a reality show about harvard-educated black doctors who’s kids attend private school and travel to zimbabwe to do missionary work. (you are aware that there are actually black professionals, right?)

gotta not mess with those, der’ stereotypes….

Tim

@tish

Funny thing with all the baby mama articles on this site, I’ve never seen you’re name on a comment. Why now?

tish

@tim

are you really questioning why i do not find time to troll “baby-mama” articles and leave comments? i’d respond with the obvious, but, it’s really pointless.